One peculiarity of the child’s deportment remains yet to be told. The very first thing which she had noticed in her life was-what? not the mother’s smile, responding to it, as other babies do, by that faint, embryo smile of the little mouth, remembered so doubtfully afterwards, and with such fond discussion whether it were indeed a smile. By no means! But that first object of which Pearl seemed to become aware was-shall we say it?-the scarlet letter on Hester’s bosom! One day, as her mother stooped over the cradle, the infant’s eyes had been caught by the glimmering of the gold embroidery about the letter; and, putting up her little hand, she grasped at it, smiling not doubtfully, but with a decide gleam, that gave her face the look of a much older child. Then, gasping for endeavoring to tear it away; so infinite was the torture inflicted by the intelligent touch of Pearl’s baby-hand. Again, as if her mother’s agonized gesture were meant only to make sport for her, did little Pearl look into her eyes, and smile! From that epoch, except when the child was asleep, Hester had never felt a moment’s safety; not a moment’s calm enjoyment of her. Weeks, it is true, would sometimes elapse, during which Pearl’s gaze might never once be fixed upon the scarlet letter; but then, again, it would come at unawares, like the stroke of sudden death, and always with that peculiar smile, and odd expression of the eyes.
The rain continued to beat against the house, and in one or two places it sent a stream through the patched panes and ran into pools on the floor. Every now and then the kitten mewed and struggled down, and the old woman stooped and caught it , holding it tight in her bony hands; and once or twice the man on the barrel half woke, changed his position and dozed again, his head falling forward on his hairy breast. As the minutes passes , and the rain still streamed against the windows, a loathing of the weak-minded old women, of the cowed children, and the ragged man sleeping off his liquor, made the setting of her own life seem a vision of peace and plenty. She thought of the kitchen at Mr.Royall’s, with its scrubbed floor and dresser full of china, and the peculiar smell of yeast and coffee and soft-soap that she had always hated, but that now seemed the very symbol of household order. She saw Mr.Royall’s room, with the highbacked horsehair chair, the faded rag carpet, the row of books on a shelf, the engraving of “The surrender of Burgoyne” over the stove, and the mat with a brown and white spaniel on a moss-green border.
參考答案:第一段出自:《红字》第六章 "珠儿" (The Scarlet Letter Chapter 06 PEARL)
作者: 纳撒尼尔·霍桑（Nathaniel Hawthorne，1804年7月4日—1864年5月19日）19世纪美国小说家。 其代表作品《红字》已成为世界文学的经典之一。
第二段出自:《夏》第六章 (Summer by Edith Wharton Chapter VI)
作者: 伊迪丝·华顿 (Edith Wharton, 1862-1937)
生於纽约，家庭在纽约社交界极著声誉。成年以前在家中和欧洲受贵族教育。其后出嫁，夫家与娘家门当户对。由於致力写作，对社交生活渐感厌烦。一九○七年和长年卧病的丈夫离婚，此后大部分时间住在欧洲，四处旅行，写了不少游记和长短篇小说。第一次世界大战期间，在法国全心全意从事救济工作。
